Everyday we engage with our "friends" through social media. Seeing the latest updates, news stories, events, etc. We are living in a world where instead of speaking to people, we're sharing our news for thousands to see at the same time. Social media is creating a world of addiction, mental illness and isolation from society. Communication and interpersonal skills are lacking, social anxiety is rising and our attention span is decreasing. The media is creating an outlet for many of us, but it is also taking over our lives? I've compiled a list of just five issues with the media, but there are hundreds more.
Here are my top five problems with social media:
- Comparison
- There is an evil that lingers in the world of social media that is often ignored, however, we always find to be in the back of our heads: comparison. Seeing someone post photos of their luxurious cars, vacations, closet, job, etc. has a lot of wishing we could have their life. However, do we really? Most content on the media is a fake image of the life someone lives. The photos being posted could easily be fake, edited, or not even theirs. This leads to issues like jealously, not feeling good enough and insecurities.
- Addiction / Fear of Missing Out
- After enough time spent on the media, we find ourselves feeling like we're missing something when we are not logged on. Not seeing the most recent posts, being part of the most recent conversations or hearing the most recent news. It becomes problematic when we put off our own day because we are wrapped up in the online presence.
- Communication
- The rise of the media is also causing a rise in social anxiety. We have become so dependent on the screen to protect us, that many of us are losing the ability to communicate like normal. Face to face conversations are becoming increasingly harder to have since communication skills are being lost.
- Isolation
- Ironically, increased usage of social media crates more feelings of isolation than feelings of connection. However, it is hard to tell the difference between correlation and causation in this scenario since we don't know which came first. However, a study was done at MIT demonstrating increased isolation levels with an increased online presence.
- Obsession
- Using social media creates an obsession with numbers: Follower count, friends, likes, comments, engagements, etc. Users are becoming so wrapped up in this number and allowing it to define their self-worth. This is predominantly seen in the YouTube influencer industry, however, it is playing a role in everyday lives of everyday people.
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